Bad Weekend for U of M Men’s Pucksters

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (GopherSports.com) – Despite dominating the final 20 minutes of play to the tune of an 11-2 shot margin, the No. 17 Gopher Hockey gave up a late goal to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth to fall 2-1 on Saturday in the consolation game of the North Star College Cup at Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota (11-9-2 overall, 2-2-2-0 Big Ten) battled back from a one-goal deficit in the third period with Kyle Rau’s eighth goal of the year just 31 seconds into the final stanza of regulation during a Minnesota power play. Justin Kloos and Mike Reilly earned assists on the play with Reilly notching his 20th assist of the year – most among all NCAA defensemen.

The Bulldogs (14-9-1, 8-5-1 NCHC) picked up two goals from Adam Krause with the senior forward tallying at 14:04 of the first period and again at 17:49 of the third for the eventual game winner. Dominic Toninato and Alex Iafallo assisted on both goals.

Adam Wilcox kept Minnesota in the low-scoring affair until the very end, making 24 saves to fall to 11-8-2 on the season while Matt McNeely made 31 saves in the win, moving to 2-2-0 on the year.

The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs 32-26 for the game while going 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.

Minnesota returns to Big Ten action next weekend with a two-game road trip to Madison to conclude the Border Battle with Wisconsin.